WEST HAVEN — Republican mayoral Candidate Michele Gregorio stood on the outskirts of the blighted The Haven site Friday and blasted the current administration for a lack of public transparency about the project, and told the public about the developer’s new proposal for a “special district” to be created through the state.

The district, which must be proposed by state legislators, would allow the developers to receive credits on sales tax collected from retail tenants of the planned high-end shopping outlet, Gregorio said.

The proposal would be made in next year’s legislative session that begins in January, Gregorio said, putting the project way behind what has been floated as the timeline by Mayor Nancy R. Rossi’s administration.

City Attorney Lee Tiernan previously had said people would be Christmas shopping at the mall by the 2020 holiday.

Rossi, contacted after Gregorio’s press conference, said an email: “The developer wanted to meet with the state delegation, I arranged the meeting. This was not a public meeting and the City of West Haven and the State Delegation will report out when there is something definite to report.” She would not verify or offer any details.

Rossi said the developer is still waiting for demolition permits to be issued and once issued, “we will have a good idea when demolition will begin.”

State Rep. Charles Ferraro, R-West Haven, who was in the meeting, and who said he wouldn’t fault Rossi for lack of transparency, said it’s true the developer is seeking more of a revenue stream, and avenues for that were discussed in the meeting. The special district could be a “win-win” for city residents, the state and the developer.

But Ferraro said legislators don’t know yet how the special tax zone plan will go over in Hartford. There already are about 10 established in the state.

He said under that scenario, shoppers at the high-end Haven would be charged 6.85 percent sales tax instead of 6.35 percent.

Ferraro said the developer had sought a tax abatement as a revenue stream, but he said that’s not fair to city taxpayers. The developer also had hoped to get upward of $20 million to $25 million from the state that didn’t come through.

“We want to proceed with caution,” Ferraro said.

Gregorio spoke at the intersection of Center and Atwater streets - the outskirts of the blighted site of the project, surrounded by supporters and residents of the area.

“Transparency and communication on this matter is critical,” Gregorio said. “Why haven’t the citizens been told about the new information regarding the Havens?”

She also asked how information on the controversial project could be handled differently and vowed that, if elected mayor, she would hold the developer’s “feet to the fire,” by enforcing fines for blight — as the current administration vowed to do, but never did — and by insisting on better security than what is there now, as a result of several fires in some of the abandoned structures.

Rossi said in response that the developer is “paying for the security and has been for months.” Before the security plan was in place, the developer paid for the West Haven Police Department to secure the property, Rossi said.

“How would she (Gregorio) hire better security? Does she want the city to pay for security for a private development? The developer has security and the developer is paying for the security. Michele has been on the Finance Board for years, why didn’t she exercise the same request of the past administration?” Rossi wrote in an email.

During the election primary campaign that involved five candidates — two running as Republicans and three as Democrats — all found The Haven to be among the top concerns of residents, along with the city’s high property taxes — which are slated to continue going up.

Most West Haven residents are hoping for the waterfront mall to be built — as are city leaders, who see it as a tremendous financial asset for the financially troubled city.

But what makes The Haven one of the city’s hottest topics is that five years after the developers first came to town, no apparent progress has been made. All that stands in that 3rd District area are boarded-up houses and buildings covered in graffiti. Every time it appears the developer can start demolition, another permit requirement, grant or other hurdle comes up, causing the public to question the developer’s commitment to the project.

As state Rep. Dorinda Borer, D-West Haven, told a Register reporter in May, “All I am asking is the same question that 55,000 other residents are asking: What is the timeline?”

Tiernan’s recent comment assuring people they would be shopping at the Haven by Christmas season 2020 is still being heavily joked about on social media sites.

“Hopefully, we will be shopping there by 2022 — hopefully,” Gregorio said.

The Haven project recently received a four-year extension on its site plan and another routine permit from the Planning and Zoning Commission. Such extensions are routine.

One of the major issues has been the safety threats posed by structures standing vacant, and Gregorio mentioned that, as well.

She said neighbors have complained of children playing at the “dangerous Bilco site,” squatters in abandoned homes, drug activity, crime and area residents being unable to sell or refinance their homes because of the condition of the area.

Among those at Friday’s press conference was Viktoria Clifford, whose street is right across from the Haven site and who is running for the 3rd District City Council seat.

Clifford said she tried to refinance her house, but even with an 860 credit score couldn’t do so, the lender telling her she lives in a “depressed area.”

“It’s been really stressful,” living near the properties, she said, noting that when her company asks, “What’s that?” regarding the Haven properties, she answers, “Cambodia.”